The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

How many of you have read this series?  Are you excited for the movie coming out August 21st?  I came in a little late on this series.  All year students were telling my I should read it.  I thought the premise sounded interesting, but I didn't get a chance to read it until this summer.  I couldn't put it down.  I read the first book in a day and a half.

If you haven't read it, here's the description from Amazon.
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .


I thought the book was fast-paced and exciting.  I also thought the characters were well-developed.  I was sad when in ended.  I was at Costco Monday, and they had the whole series.  I bought the second and third book.  I can't wait to see the movie.  August is looking good with both this movie and Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters coming out.  

Writing Challenge #9 Story Starter

Sorry I'm a day late this week.  We were in California for two weeks and got back Sunday night.  Yesterday, I was busy getting everything back in order from the long trip.  This week's challenge is a story starter.

Writing Challenge #9
You wake up in the morning, and when you look in the mirror, a different face stares back at you.  Take the story from this point.  

Writing Challenge #8 Chalk Art Prompt

I love when people create amazing artwork with chalk.  Some of these 3-D images blow me away.  One of my favorite movies growing up was Mary Poppins.  I loved the scene where they popped right into Bert's chalk drawing.  I want you to look at them and imagine the places they would take you to if you could jump into these chalk worlds.

Writing Challenge #8

Choose one of the above drawings.  Imagine you traveled into the world the artist has created (your journey there can be part of the story).  Describe your adventure.  

Writing Challenge #7 Happiest Poem on Earth

They say Disneyland is "The happiest place on Earth."  I love Disneyland, and it is one of my favorite places to go.  Allow me to indulge in a couple photos from past trips.  

Photo by Angela Knight

As much as I love Disneyland, I don't know if I would consider it my "happy place."  When I think of my happy place, it is somewhere where I can relax and be at peace.  Disney is way too fun for that.  I would choose the beach or even my back patio, where I sit every morning and evening.  

Where is your happy place?  The mountains?  The beach?  The soccer field?  

Writing Challenge #7 Happy Place

Write a poem about your favorite place.  That place in the world that just makes you happy.  Be descriptive.  Use lots of sensory detail.  Make us feel like we are there with you.

Writing Challenge #6 Fan Fiction

Lately, I keep seeing a lot of references to "fan fiction" on the internet.  It's been around a while, but I hadn't given it much thought until recently.  I have a cousin who is writing Jurassic Park fan fiction.  Merriam-Webster defines fan fiction as this:

Definition of FAN FICTION

: stories involving popular fictional characters that are written by fans and often posted on the Internet —called alsofan fic,

Basically you take characters from a favorite novel, television show, or movie and create a new story with those character.  I thought this would be fun to try this week.

Challenge #6

Write a piece of fan fiction using your favorite book or movie characters.  Create a new story for these characters.  It can be related to the original story, but not a copy of it.  Write your own original piece.  

2013 Writing Challenge #5

Happy July!  I don't know about you, but I'm having a tough time with it being July already.  Summer is flying by way too fast!  Does anyone have big plans for July 4th?  We haven't decided what we'll be doing, but we are staying close to home.  This heat is killing me, so I don't think we'll spend too much time outside.  On this holiday week, we're going to write a little historical fiction.

2013 Writing Challenge #5

Write a fictional story that takes place before or during the Revolutionary War.  Your characters can be early colonists or soldiers, regular people or famous historical figures.  

*For those going into 8th grade, you will be writing a historical fiction piece for the Revolutionary War as a requirement this year, so this could be a head start for you to get the ideas flowing.

Happy Writing and stay cool!